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Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance
Mammoth Book of Paranormal, The (2009) — Anthology ebook & paperback: * File Size: 1364 KB * Print Length: 560 pages * Publisher: Robinson (February 12, 2009) * Publication Date: February 12, 2009 * Sold by: Hachette Book Group * Language: English Editor and Authors Editor: Trisha Telep Contributors: Cat Adams, Ilona Andrews, Kelley Armstrong, Anya Bast, Meljean Brook, Rachel Caine, Alyssa Day, Lori Devoti, Jeaniene Frost, Lynda Hilburn, Allyson James, Jean Johnson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Holly Lisle, Cheyenne McCray, Sara Mackenzie, Catherine Mulvany, Mary Jo Putney, Michelle Rowen, Eve Silver, Maria V. Snyder, Carrie Vaughn, Anna Windsor Description * Genre and Sub-Genres: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance * Theme: Fall in love with someone out of this world. * Supernatural Elements: Vampire, succubus, djinn shapeshifter, shifter child, werewolves, demon, demon hunter, mage, spirit, gargoyle, chimeras, elvish lord, reincarnation, Study of Paranatural Biology, Faeries, magic users, selkies, purgatory, Half-demons, queen of the Unseelie Court, creatures of myth, sea-god Neptune. If love transcends all boundaries then paranormal romance is its logical conclusion. From the biggest names around, here are 24 tales to take you to another time and place. Let Alyssa Day, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Cheyenne McCray, Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews, Kelley Armstrong, Maria V. Snyder, Carrie Vaughn, Allyson James Marland and others show you powers beyond your wildest imaginings. Within these pages mythical beasts, magical creatures of all shapes and sizes, heart-stoppingly handsome ghosts, angels, and mortals with extra-sensitive sensory perception play out the themes of extraordinary desires. Goodreads | The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance Synopsis by Story "The Temptation of Robin Green" by Carrie Vaughn — Kitty Norville series 0.4 : Lieutenant Robin Green's work at the Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology introduces her to some strange and interesting creatures of myth and legend, one of which may steal her heart. ❖ A military researcher gets more than she expected out of her new laboratory position when she finds herself working with a mysterious collection of living, cryptozoological specimens, including an irresistible male selkie who seduces her completely. "Succubus Seduction" by Cheyenne McCray * Lilin, a succubus, has been charged by the queen of the Unseelie Court to seduce Archer Dane and bring her his soul... but Archer won't be won so easily. ❖ Lilin, a gorgeous succubus, is tasked with stealing the soul of a handsome mortal man. However, she’s thrown a curveball – he resists her, and her immortality is taken from her as a result. "Paranormal Romance Blues" by Kelley Armstrong * Half-demons looking for love in all the wrong places. ❖ A half-demon walks into a trashy vampire bar…and finds herself in the middle of a chase to hunt down a killer vampire. "John Doe" by Anna Windsor * Celebrating her 30th birthday working the late shift at the Riverview Psychiatric Hospital would be really boring for Dutch Brennan if it weren't for the interesting new arrival. ❖ A psychologist receives a very unusual patient, who turns out to be rather otherworldly—and has a life-changing revelation about her past. "Taking Hold" by Anya Bast * Human nurse, Lily, has volunteered to help in the search for a lost young werewolf with Mac, the wolf she's got a jones for. ❖ A werewolf loner and a human woman track a lost shifter pup through the winter wilderness but find much more than a missing boy. "How to Date a Superhero" by Jean Johnson * Partnered superheroes struggle to find a way to balance their conflicted feelings toward each other without endangering the team. ❖ Carrie Vinson, AKA the Ascendant superheroine Foresight, might be a masked protector of human life, but that certainly doesn’t make her dating situation any easier. Dealing with her handsome partner, Steelhand, is an exercise in frustration, and when Carrie sees an intense vision of the future, it ends up flustering her to the point that the telepath notices. "Daniel" by Cat Adams * When a process server gets tangled up with a sexy vampire and his master things could get nasty. ❖ Lawyer Karen James has even more issues than how to properly serve up divorce notifications and restraining orders – she has made an enemy of a malevolent vampire, Alexander, and now the race is on to protect herself and her undead love, Daniel, from Alexander’s wrath. Very short; might have been better if it were a bit longer or there was a little more background on why Alexander and Karen had bad blood between them. "Light Through Fog" by Holly Lisle * When Sarah's husband Sam died all that was left to connect them was their tree and a mysterious magic in the fog. ❖ After the death of her husband, Sarah was absolutely heartbroken. But a seemingly impossible encounter with her deceased love leaves Sarah pregnant—and many questions to be answered. An absolutely beautiful story and a real tearjerker. "The Tuesday Enchantress" by Mary Jo Putney * It's not everyday Charlie meets a gorgeous fellow Guardian but this might be his lucky day... or a really, really unlucky one when the two are put in a hostage situation. ❖ Daemon Alexander, an ages-old man with a magical secret, finds some peace as he masquerades as the human handyman of a seemingly fragile woman in a small, New York town. But appearances can be deceiving. ❖ Charlie, a young doctor-to-be with magical Guardian blood in his veins, happens to be in the right place at the right time to save his friend Rajiv when his coffee shop is held up and Rajiv is shot. But they’re not alone – a bewitching female Guardian also happens to be in the shop, and the attraction between Charlie and Maggie is magical in its own right. "Trinity Blue" by Eve Silver * Jen's love-life heats up when she hires a mysterious drifter to help with some painting around her grandmother's house, but could he have something to do with an equally mysterious murder? ❖ "Grace of Small Magics" by Ilona Andrews * When warring mage clans clash Grace not only discovers that her family is essentially owned by one of them or that she must now fight beside her new master but that there's a lot more to herself and her master than meets the eye. ❖ A game between opposing, magic-capable clans comes with a very deadly price, and Grace, a young woman of little magical ability, is caught in the middle of it. To top it all off, she finds herself in a long-standing family blood-debt to a wickedly attractive man from an opposing clan "Once a Demon" by Dina James * Kyle prefers his solitude but when a friend offers a chance to speak of the love he lost it may lead to his salvation. ❖ A handsome demon-turned-vampire gives a special confession to a friend’s wife and finds some absolution in the process. "Night Vision" by Maria V. Snyder * Most of her life Sophia has hidden from those who would use her unusual gifts but perhaps putting them to use in the right ways could be a good thing. ❖ Covert “light-bender”—a woman with a rare condition able to make herself invisible and see perfectly in the dark—is called out of hiding to save the life of a federal agent trying to save his sister who is afflicted in the same way she is. "Pele's Tears" by Catherine Mulvany * Dillon Makua never forgot his first love and when she comes crashing back into his life to solve the mystery of her grandmother's suicide maybe Neolani hasn't forgotten him either. ❖ After her grandmother’s disappearance and apparent suicide, Noelani hires an investigator to determine what happened and finds the love of her youth in the detective. "Pack" by Jeaniene Frost * Getting lost in the woods alone has definitely gotten Marlee in over her head when she gets attacked and rescued by two very different wolves. ❖ A hiker on her own in Yellowstone National Park gets more than she bargained for when she is attacked by a pack of wolves—but these canines are far from the garden-variety gray wolves the national park is famous for. "When Gargoyles Fly" by Lori Devoti * When Mord the gargoyle is awakened by Kami after a hundred years of slumber the world of humans could be in mortal danger. ❖ In this sweet story with echoes of the Pygmalion myths, an enchanted gargoyle saves the life of the woman who returned him from stone to life and must decide whether an ancient war between gargoyles and chimeras is most important to him – or the possibility of love with the human woman. "The Lighthouse Keeper and His Wife" by Sara Mackenzie * Sent back from purgatory to right a past wrong, Zek strikes a bargain to see his wife in her reincarnation one more time. ❖ Isabel, the wife of a lighthouse-keeper in another time, is brought into the past to battle the sea-god, Neptune and save the lives of all aboard an old-time passenger steamer doomed to die unless she and her husband of old, Zek, stop him. "Blood Song" by Lynda Hilburn * Ethan is a vampire who gets stuck on clean-up duty when he meets the enigmatic sound-healer, Grace and what their meeting brings is simply magic. ❖ A sound-healer has an unfortunate experience with a newly-awakened, out-of-control vampire, and her angelic rescuer haunts her dreams. But her hero is far from an angel himself… "The Princess and the Peas" by Alyssa Day * A princess, 'peas' made of iron and a gathering of fae are all it takes for trouble and romance in this tale. ❖ A princess’s ruse to capture the most powerful fae leader for her husband goes awry, while her servant girl has her own adventures with the elvish guests "At Second Bite" by Michelle Rowen * Evan Frost is convinced that Julia is his soulmate reincarnated and when his brother Henry tries to kill her things get even more confusing. ❖ Julia Donner never expected to meet a crazed vampire at the singles’ meet, much less two. One claims her as his soulmate, while the other attempts to kill her, but it’s the lethal one that catches Julia’s heart. "Blue Crush" by Rachel Caine — Weather Warden series #7.5 * Joanne and David from the Weather Warden series spend a day at the beach saving lives, kicking booty and getting a little frisky. ❖ A djinn and a weather warden – a woman with supernatural powers over the weather – set out into the ocean to rescue a human girl, but end up finding two terrifying creatures in the waters and a mystery to be solved. "The Wager" by Sherrilyn Kenyon — Lords of Avalon * A strangely narrated Lords of Avalon tale of loving and pissing-off the wrong woman. ❖ A lord of Arthurian times finds himself in the modern era after being punished for mentally insulting a merlin — a woman of powerful rank — but it seems his trials are not yet passed. "In Sheep's Clothing" by Meljean Brook * Five years ago Emma left Oregon and Nathan behind but when she comes home and faces off with a murderer she and Nathan will need one another to bring the bad guy down. ❖ A young werewolf female returns to her hometown, only to find a dangerous human stalking women—and the crush of her teenaged years. When she accidentally turns the killer into a wolf, the chase is on, and she must track down the menace before he kills any more women. "The Dream Catcher" by Allyson James * Set in an unusual world where high society humans no longer have sexual relations a creature meant to fulfill fantasies of all kinds will awaken Natalia to the pleasure and joy of her secret desires. ❖ In a society where passion is frowned upon, a noblewoman craves more and finds it in the mysterious Dream Catcher – a preternatural creature capable of turning anyone’s fantasies into a powerful illusion. But will Natalia’s Dream Catcher seize more than her innermost desires and capture her heart? References